“A very happy 2011 to all Death and Control Denied fans around the world! This is going to be an exciting and dramatic year for all of us preserving Chuck’s legacy – not just of course the fact that in December it will be a full decade since Chuck died, but due to all of the cool things happening that keep his music and memory very much alive. The Schuldiners and I, in partnership with Relapse Records – and with the full cooperation and support of all the former band members and associates – have been painstakingly dealing with every small detail to ensure that the Death and Control Denied names live on for the diehards as well as with a new generation just discovering the groundbreaking music.

You already know some of what is happening: Producer Jim Morris is already working with the Control Denied guys on the much anticipated completion of When Man And Machine Collide (yes, this is now the fixed, proper title), which will eventually be out on Relapse. Keep checking EmptyWords for progress reports; Relapse production manager Drew Juergens and I continue to map out the reissues, gathering together rarities and extras to make each release is historical – one of the Death reissues will even be a complete album remix by Jim Morris (more news on that in EmptyWords as it becomes available)!

The official Death fan club The Metal Crusade will soon be re-launched. There will be a Chuck Schuldiner biography by trailblazing metallic globetrotter Ian Christe. And the first Death reissue is The Sound of Perseverance in mindboggling two-CD standard (available internationally) and three-CD deluxe (available through Relapse mail order only) versions, scheduled for release in February – but the big news is that the cover has been revamped by original artist Travis Smith… and I am here giving the official debut of the new cover at EmptyWords for all to see!

All of this would surely meet Chuck’s approval. However, the most important thing is to make the fans happy – and that is our motivation, as it was Chuck’s. Keep the metal flowing and I hope to meet a lot of you in this New Year.”